Test Subjects
by Cappichino
Summary: When The School decides that The Flock needs to be disciplined, they ship them off to one of their affiliates, Aperture Laboratories. The flock then meets the mysterious mute Chell, who hasn't seen another human for years. What's on their mind? Escape.
1. Chapter 1

Have you ever been forced to live your life as a test subject? Let me tell you, it's not pretty. You see, I was adopted and used as a test subject for a not-so-little Science Lab known as Aperture Laboratories. I can't remember much from my childhood, and I honestly can't remember who adopted me.

But anyways, being a test subject is hard. It's always either success, or death if you prefer. I'm always being told that. I've gone through dozens of test chambers, and I'm probably not even close to finishing. I know what you're thinking. "Run away and call for help!" Well you should know that a computer known as GLaDOS is basically running this whole DAMN facility. She controls the doors, the walls, _everything. _There is basically no hope for escaping. Plus, they ripped out my vocal chords as soon as I signed up for this shit. GLaDOS honestly is cruel. I never get to rest from all the testing that she heaves onto me. It's always chamber after chamber. Why the hell do I have to keep testing? The portal gun works, in case you didn't know.

Oh, what's a portal gun?

It's just what it is. A portal gun. You pop a portal in one spot, and another in a different area. Walk through one portal, come out the other. It's as simple as that, honestly.

Anyways, you know how I told you about success or fail? This is one of those tests. Neurotoxin was filling up the room, and I couldn't find any place to pop a portal. I mean, they've modified it all. I can't just put a portal _anywhere._ The exit was so far away, and there was no way to get to it. No "sunlight bridge" or any of that crap. So you know what? I gave up. If I'm just going to spend the rest of my life testing, what's the point? I threw my twenty-five pound portal gun off to the side and laid face down on the cold, tiled floor. I took in a deep breath of neurotoxin.

_You know what GLaDOS?_ I thought to myself. _Find someone else to do your testing. _I closed my eyes and waited for my demise to come over me, but a cold metallic arm dragged me by the legs.

"_Enough of that, Chell._" Said a robotic voice. _"Maybe some cake ought to bring you back to your senses."_

**AN: I just finished Portal 2. It's an amazing game, and I loved every moment of it. Anyway, the Flock will get included in probably the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

The place I woke up in was cold and lonely. My head was throbbing, and pain surged through my wings. I was slowly able to regain my consciousness, and the first thing I noticed was that I was in something very similar to an isolation tank. The walls were made of glass (or plastic, I really didn't care) and the bed I slept on had a Max-shaped crater on it. I'm not that heavy, am I?

I looked through the transparent walls, expecting to see white-coats or tourists looking at me like an exhibit in a museum, but there was no sign of anyone. I began to wonder if I was really in a lab again. I flopped back down onto my lopsided bed. Suddenly, I thought of something that made my stomach turn/

_Where the HELL is my flock?_

Crap. There were no doors or any exits in the tank, just a radio, and a toilet. I didn't see any other isolation tanks, but my reflection in the glass notified me that I am now in an orange jumpsuit. Not that bad looking.

AGH! Back to the point. I don't have any damn idea as to where I am, or more importantly, where my flock is. I sat on my bed and began to rub my temples. Do any of you know how many times I've been captured and separated? Has anyone recorded the number of kidnappings?

Didn't think so. Because that would probably mean you'd run out of fingers to count on.

I started pounding on the glass, throwing objects, and screaming. Hopefully that would get a whitecoat's attention. It always did! Why wouldn't that work here?

"Whoever the hell is there," I screeched (and I mean screeched), "I want you to let me out!"

"Hello," greeted a robotic, emotionless voice, "and welcome to Aperture Science Laboratories. We hope your stay in the detention center has been a pleasant one."

_Oh great._ I sighed. _Is this like, a female flyboy?_ Have I ever told you how many times I've run into a robot? Just saying.

"Maximum Ride," the voice said again. "my name is GLaDOS, and I'm honored to have you here for Portal testing. In a moment, a portal will open, step through it to meet your partner in science."

In that instant an orange warp hole appeared through one of the walls in the tank. I looked through it, and it was an opening to another part of the room. I fixed my wings so that they'd fit through the hole. Once through, I automatically scanned the area. The computer lied. No one was there. Just me, bird kid Max. I slowly took a few steps backward before sprinting, looking for an exit. The heel-like attachments I found on my legs helped a lot. But suddenly a jolt ran through my entire body.

"Nice try," GLaDOS giggled. "Just hold on a minute, won't you?"

The tank that I slept in began to move out of the room and a new one took its spot. Sleeping in the tank was a dark-skinned girl, all dressed up in a similar orange jumpsuit. She didn't look like she'd be waking up anytime soon.

"Maximum Ride," went the cold voice again. I glanced up, expecting to find a speaker, or something. Turns out, there's no sort of thing like that. "I understand that you are the leader of a group of similar species. Don't worry about _them._ They are in saaaafe hands."

The way she said that just made me tense… the veins in my forehead began to twitch. The sound of a robotic arm moving came from behind me. To my surprise, it was a camera. That made it worse. The person keeping me in here was someone I can't fight. Yet.

"Where are they?" I hollered at the camera. "If you lay a hand on them…"

"Do not worry about them. In fact, they could be having cake right now. Wouldn't you like some cake too?"

Suddenly the other girl jumped up and stared at me through the transparent walls. She was saying something to me… whatever it was, I couldn't hear it. I tried to read her lips, but all I could make out from that was "The cake is a lie. The cake is a lie." She just kept repeating that over and over. What was she, crazy?

Well, we're in a lab. Everyone's crazy.


	3. Chapter 3: A Flashback and a Bird Kid

First Name: Chell

Last Name: N/A

Age: 12

Height: 5"1

"On behalf of your Aperture Science Testing Employment, we are authorized to construct immediate removal of your vocal chords'"

"What? Why's that?"

"Aperture Laboratories is a facility unknown to society. In order to keep it a secret, test subjects are required to be involved in this process. The removal of vocal chords gives the Enrichment Center its assurance."

"No! You can't do this! I didn't sign up for this shit!"

Chell was strapped down to an operation table, and was surrounded by men in clean white lab coats.

"Mom!"

"Caroline is assisting Mr. Johnson at the moment, and we received her approval."

A scientist gingerly lifted up the girl's chin and tilted her head as far back as it could possibly go. Chell's breathing sped up at an even pace. Her eyes followed the knife, slowly descending to her throat. She felt it _sliiiice…._

The pain was something she had never experienced before. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she began to kick and scream. At one point, she screamed so loud, one of the scientists shoved his hand in her mouth to keep her quiet. It went on for several minutes, but it felt like several years. After the first few minutes, she heard them talk amongst themselves, saying things like "Will this one end up like the others?" Or sometimes, "God, this one is violent. Wonder how'll she'll die in the tests?"

"Mom…" she muffled, a hand still forced in her mouth. She heard the hiss of a blade. "Mom, you bitch!"

* * *

><p>"Hey, wake up."<p>

I forced my eyes open. A young girl stood over me, her blond wavy hair spilling onto my face. I whacked it away and sat straight up. The atmosphere of the room felt familiar. How long was I asleep?

The girl smiled at me. "Hiya there!" she grinned. "I'm Max." She held out her hand. But I really didn't want to shake back. So in return, all I did was glare at her.

"Oh good," said a familiar voice. "You two have met. Maximum, this is Chell."

Max didn't look so trusting of me either. Her hand awkwardly withdrew, left untouched.

"Chell, I know I told you not to come back." Said the voice again. "But your freedom wasn't all that great was it?"

Oh, freedom sounds so good right now. But I don't remember being free. For as long as I know, I've been at Aperture nearly my whole life. I don't know what the outside world is like, and I'm actually not so sure about finding out anytime soon. The other girl stared at me awkwardly.

"So, um," she pressed the tips of her fingers together, "how the _hell_ did you get out?"

"Oh, I brought her out. But I guarantee it won't happen again."

My eyebrows furrowed. "

What?" I asked, but no sound came out.

"Oh, you don't remember? I suppose that makes it easier. If you did remember…

Never mind. It's not important. Now, onto testing, shall we?"

Max seriously looked _pissed._ I guess she didn't have a good encounter with the person in charge.

"Have you met GLaDOS before?" she asked, suppressing inner rage.

I shook my head. I might've met GLaDOS before, but I'm really not sure.

"Of course she has. Why, I remember this one time, she _murdered_ me. But that's okay. I'm fine now, see? Now, why don't you start testing, or should I just start up some neurotoxin?"

_Oh, God. I remember now._

Thoughts flashed in my head at an incredible rate. I saw cubes, spheres, turrets,

_Wheatley._

Agh, I miss that little sphere. Despite how he betrayed me, and attempted to kill me numerous times. But let's forget about that. I needed to get moving. I shook it off and exited the isolation tank. I motioned for Max to follow.

"That's right, off you go. Then we can all have a lovely reunion at the end… with cake. And who knows? Chell, you just might meet an old friend. Not that you have many."

I rolled my eyes. I actually wished I hadn't come back to Aperture. But I didn't know how the outside world worked. I should've stayed outside. I left my companion cube out there! Oh, it must be lonely.

-X-

The portal devices we were supplied with weren't dual, so I received the orange portal gun whilst Max was given the blue one. The first test was simple. Portal yourself to the other side of the room, press a button, get the cube, and put it on the button. Simple, right? I shot a portal in the wall behind me and pointed Max to where to other portal should go. She loaded her portal gun and satisfyingly shot the other side of the wall.

"Oh, cool!" She laughed. "That was just awesome! This lab is better than my first one. But, I don't think we need portals for going around."

I looked at her questioningly. Because when you can't talk, expressions do it for you.

Wait, she knows I can't talk, right?

"Chell, go by the door. Watch this."

She took two steps backwards and shot a glance at me. "I'm only doing this because I know I can trust you. Otherwise, the damn portal is our only option." She gave a deep breath. Then with all her might gave a running jump and—you're not going to believe this—snapped her wings out and soared to fetch the little cube! Where the hell did she get wings? Why would a scientist need a mutant like that? Whatever. It's freaking incredible! It was something I have _never _seen before. It's like watching an angel… or that one guy from X-men. What was his name again?

"Aagh!" GLaDOS's voice came on. "Bird! Kill it! Kill it! _IT'S EVIL." _

I couldn't help it, but I snorted. Her potato experience has traumatized her for good, hasn't it? My silent laugh was interrupted when a ear-piercing shriek echoed throughout the chamber. When I looked up, Max had fallen to the floor.

"Don't…do…that…" GLaDOS panted. "Or next time, I'll kill you…"

Max dusted herself off and lifted herself off the ground. Mumbling in rage, she shot a blue portal into the wall. She walked on through and appeared behind me.

"Alright," she sighed, "where do I put my portal again?"

I shot her a perturbed look and made the shape of a square with my index fingers and thumbs. "Oh yeah." She facepalmed. "To get the cube." Aiming languidly, she gauchely popped a portal on the opposite wall of the room.

I dragged her through my orange portal and brought her to the cube. I silently taught her how to pick things up with her portal gun, and she got the hang of it instantly. Surprised, I wondered how she was able to learn something so quickly from someone who couldn't speak. Maybe I'm just really talented. Max eagerly ran toward the exit button and dropped the weighted cube upon it, causing the doors to open. She couldn't help but look pleased with herself, constantly drumming her fingers on her portal device. We climbed into the elevator lift when GLaDOS decided to speak again.

"By the way," she intruded, "Chell, do you remember that Intelligence Dampening Sphere? You know… Wheatley? It turns out that he's linked to my database."

For some reason, my heart rate began to speed up, and my lips curled into a smile. "Oh, but that's not all." She chimed in again, "I can set him on a straight course back to Aperture."

"Chell?" Max looked at me suspiciously. "I don't know why the _hell_ I'm here. Tell me where I am."

I sent a flustered, yet innocent look at her. Her wings were jammed into this elevator shaft, and I recently noticed that there was barely any space between us. _Awwkwaard._

"Tell. Me."

Wait, wait, wait. So she doesn't know that I can't talk? Crap. I prayed that GLaDOS would ring in again with an insult or rude remark, or even a threat.

"Let me finish, Maximum. Now, about _him, _the Intelligence Dampening Sphere… not only can I send him on a course back, but _I can also delete his file."_

Her voice was cold and deep at the last phrase. What did she mean by deleting Wheatley's file?

"Back to me." Coughed Max. "I want info on this place, it's location, and why I'm here. Chell, I showed you a secret." She arranged her wings to indicate what she meant. "Now tell me a secret."

I sighed. Max doesn't know that I can't speak, and I have no way to tell her so. _Let's see…_ I thought to myself, searching for something that would explain where we were. Oh, the Aperture Science Logo! I instantly pointed to the logo, which was stenciled onto the floor of the lift. Max just glared at me. I guess she didn't get it. '_Aappperrrtuurreee_' I mouthed. She raised an eyebrow, and was obviously not amused. I sighed and leaned back in the shaft. _C'mon GLaDOS…_ I silently begged the A.I. _Say something…_

"By the way, Maximum," The sassy robotic voice came in once more. "Did you know that a certain dark bird kid couldn't withstand forty bullets? It's a proven fact."

* * *

><p>AN: Well… holy crap. This is the longest chapter I've written so far. I really don't have much to say in this author's note, so just read the next one when it comes out okay?<p>

**Please?**


	4. Chapter 4

It was two in the morning, according to this alarm clock. Fang was the first one up, as he usually is. For the first time in years, he and the flock were locked up in cages. Again. There were no whitecoats around, nor were there any erasers or flyboys. But if he were somehow able to escape the cage, there were three hundred turrets ready to fire at him.

An A.I. hung from the ceiling, her yellow optic always alert. So far, she hadn't said a word to the flock, and she kept her focus on the monitors aligned on the wall. When the A.I. spoke, her message would only be heard in a specific room depending on whom her conversation was with. Fang decided that the robot must've been talking to Max, hopefully. From the speaker on one of the monitors, he heard a familiar voice screaming in rage.

"Shut up! You… you're lying! You lied about the cake too, I know you did! Tell me you didn't kill him! You didn't!" That's Max. That's definitely Max.

Fang sighed in relief. _So Max is in the facility too, huh. _He thought to himself. He glanced around the room, his eyes trailing from the A.I. to the turrets, to the Flock. Iggy and the Gasman were curled up in the same cage while Nudge and Angel got their own.

_Fang? _A small voice entered his head—Angel. _Where's Max?_

Fang glanced over to the small avian-human child curled up in her cage, eyes only half open. He didn't bother replying verbally or telepathically, so he pressed a finger to his lips and turned away. As he heard gasps and shrieks from the monitor, curiosity in him grew stronger. He scooted to the boundary of the cage, squinting at the screens the A.I. gleefully faced. He spotted blonde-streaked hair and skin covered in a thin layer of filth. Max. Unconsciously, his hand began to reach from within the bars of the cage, immediately alerting the turrets.

"I see you," one of them spoke with a bloodcurdling infantile voice. The bullets began to fly, not only striking him, but the other neighboring turrets as well. Soon all the turrets became confused and aimlessly shot in their range of sight, screaming in pain and turmoil. Soon all the turrets shut down, and Fang luckily was only grazed slightly by the bullets in a few areas. The commotion instantaneously woke up the flock… and the A.I.

The robot swiveled away from the monitors and focused her gaze at the dark bird kid.

"Oh," she said, slight sarcasm ringing in her voice. "Hello there. I'm so glad you woke up. Did the turrets keep you company?"

Fang simply gritted his teeth and wiped the blood away from his nose. "Anyway, your last science facility has gladly shipped you over to _this_ one. And in case you didn't notice, I can't be attacked, _or mind controlled._" She shot a look at the youngest member of the flock, who surprisingly flinched. It seemed like after all this time of fighting robots, you wouldn't be so afraid. Well, this A.I. was different. And female. "Stay here." She whispered, "I'll let your buddy Maximum know that you've woken up." She swiveled back to the monitors. "Hello again, Max." she mockingly greeted. "Guess who's awake now? And grazed with bullets?" The A.I. giggled at the sight of Max's eyes widening. "Oh, I know it will heal fast. I know about your anatomy. But how fast can you heal death? Goodbye." She shut off her microphone and speakers. If she had a human body, she'd been smiling.

-x-

"I'm going to beat the living—"

Chell instinctively cupped a hand over her partner's mouth as she heard the sounds of an alert turret.

"Who's there?" It eerily replied. "I can see you."

Max's portal was plastered at the end of an excursion funnel. Letting go of the bird kid's mouth, Chell popped her own portal behind the lethal sentry. The funnel carried the turret for a distance before the weapon blew a gasket and shut itself down. With the turret out of the way, there was a clear path for the duo to use as an exit. Although Max could've easily carried her partner to the exit, they had to use a nifty little thing called repulsion gel. Chell punched the button closest to her, causing the blue get to splatter to a specific point on the floor. Pouncing on the fluid shot them straight to the elevator shaft, bringing them straight to the next test chamber. The doors slid open, revealing a room consisting of excursion funnels, buttons, and plenty of panels. Max punched a button, causing a weighted cube to drop down fifteen feet onto a trampoline-like panel at the bottom, causing the cube to bounce. The panel was surrounded by a deadly moat, except for a lone panel sitting right under their nose. Behind them was a slanted panel, which they used for their advantage. If one of them launched a portal at the one below them and one behind them, they could grab the cube with momentum. But after they grabbed the cube, where would that lead them? After launching themselves at the object, they'd fly straight into the wall and sink down into the deadly moat. Perhaps they could cheat a little bit. They could remove all the cameras from the room and have Max fly over there. If the cameras are gone, GLaDOS had no chance of seeing. But… she'd probably see the two of them _removing_ the cameras… Max beamed as an idea crawled up into her head.

"Put a portal where the funnel ends" she pointed, "We'll just get the cube with it" Chell did just as she was told and Max shot her portal behind the bouncing cube. The funnel trapped the cube and Chell took a hold of it with her portal gun. Now that they have the cube, where do they put it? The two of them scanned the area looking for large red buttons. Chell immediately noted one on the ceiling. Max shot her portal at the point below her so that the funnel could direct a bath to the button. Chell dropped the cube into the flow of the channel and let it push the trigger. As soon as the button was pressed, panels began to shift and stir, revealing a separate passageway.

"How's about you go this way instead?" GLaDOS said in a low voice. "I have a surprise for you."


	5. Chapter 5

Oh goodie, a surprise! I'm just kidding. I hate surprises. All the surprises I've gotten would be heartbreaking to a normal person. Well, by normal, I mean someone who hasn't been a test subject all their life. Max is a _little_ more normal than I am, since she's had experiences with other humans. But then again, wings are _immensely_ unnatural for a human being. Not to mention, I heard that there were several others just like her. I peeked my head through the little passageway, looking for signs of hidden neurotoxin. GLaDOS has an unhealthy addiction to toxins. Caroline on the other hand, did not. Unfortunately, GLaDOS could've kept Caroline's traits and personality, but she deleted that off her files. Now we have the sarcastic, homicidal A.I. back on her… well, I would say feet, but she doesn't have any.

"I know what you're thinking," sighed GLaDOS, "you're thinking I'm going to trap you. But this time, I want to show you something. Have a look." A robot claw slowly descended to our level, dropping off a chocolate cake decorated with cherries and a single candle. "See? I told you it wasn't a lie. In fact, I haven't lied to you about _anything _so far."

"That's not the surprise, is it?" Max grunted under her breath. She tensed up. "If you're not lying at all, then does that mean that…" Oh crap. GLaDOS mentioned something about how a bird kid couldn't sustain a certain number of bullets. I stared at her, wondering what I should do or how to act. Should I comfort her? Well, we still don't know if GLaDOS is lying or not. But then again, it might— "Come on, Chell. Let's go find that surprise." She seized my wrist and dragged me down the secret hall. I shook free and followed along beside her. She was so mad, I swear I saw a vein throbbing in her forehead. The lights dimmed to black as we got close and closer to the "surprise." GLaDOS sealed off the hallway, and left us standing awkwardly in the dark. Slowly the lights came back on revealing the most gruesome thing someone could ever experienced. I began to hyperventilate. _Did GLaDOS do this?_ I asked myself. _Is she going to do this to us? We haven't even finished our tests yet!_ Max failed to hold back the tears streaming down her face. Her knees grew weak as she collapsed to the soiled crimson floor. She extended her arm, reaching for a clump of black feathers, glued together by dried blood.

-x-

"Wanna go to space. Let's go now, haha! Let's go space, space atmosphere."

The sphere flew around happily in the starry void. It was normal that he would babble on about space, but now he sang it with a beat, making it more obnoxious than usual. A similar sphere with a blue optic paid no attention. It seemed that he had already gotten used to the constant chatter mostly consisting of _one damn word. _But instead of focusing on his companion, he chatted amongst himself, repeating a word he had been practicing for a while/

"Sorry," he rehearsed, "sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…" Every now and then, he'd put emphasis on a different syllable. Sometimes, he even said it in Spanish.

"Hey," called the Space core, "hey, hey, hey, Wheatley. Wheatley. Wheatley. Hey."

"…What?"

"Space forgives you. Isn't that right space? 'Yes. Now we are a family again.'"

Wheatley let out a sigh as the metal ball lowered his voice and went sailing off in the abyss once more.

_Hello, moron._ A voice ran cold through Wheatley's circuits. _Glad to see you miserable._

"Who was that?" Wheatley gasped, his optic gazing in all sorts of directions. "Who's out there?"

_It's me, GLaDOS. Now listen, Don't you want to come back to Earth?_

"Um… yup. I do believe so. Why's that?"

_ Because I can send you straight back here._

"Oh! Brilliant! Take me back, take me back, please."

_How's about we have a trade? I bring you back to earth, and you do a simple task for me._

"Well, w-what's the task?"

_Kill a certain person for me. I have a test subject I want to dispose of._

Wheatley thought for a bit. Last thing he remembers, GLaDOS and _her_ teamed up, so _she _must be free by now. Since it's not _her_, he decided that killing a test subject was an easy chore.

"Alright," he said cheerfully, "I'll do it. I'll kill your test subject."

_Excellent._ Her voice said slowly and sinisterly. _I'll bring you riiight back._

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Oh, God," Max whispered under her breath, "Why is she d-doing this?" She was choking on her tears. I can't imagine what she must be going through. I've never had someone that would stay with me for more than a day or someone to actually care for me. If I did, I surely didn't know about them. All I could do for sympathy is put my hand on her shoulder. I don't want anyone closer to me than that. Max quickly dried her cheeks and slipped the feathers into her jumpsuit pocket. She seized her portal device and looked at me, wearing an angry face. "What is she?" she questioned. "What is GLaDOS?"<p>

I couldn't respond. I sighed and looked around the room, stepping over the internal organs scattered upon the floor. The sight of it still made me sick, but for some reason, I don't react to things. That's probably because I always feel like the straight man in a mad world. Behind a pile of stomachs, livers, and brains, I noticed that there were a line of companion cube sketches, drawn across the room. So that means there were other people in this room too! The innards strewn about could've belonged to them… and the bird feathers don't have to be from Max's friends. I remember that there was a crow that attacked GLaDOS when she was a potato. Maybe she tore that one to shreds.

"Do you like the surprise?" the A.I. bot chimed in. "I worked really hard on it."

"You coward!" Max hollered at the ceiling, "Come down here and I'll kick the living crap out of you!"

"I can't. My human self died years ago. Where did I put it?" GLaDOS began moving panels around, disposing the insides that were laid about the room. Finally she came across the body of a woman with wavy brown hair in a stained white dress. "I found it." She said with false delight. "Let me get into the dressing room and put it on."

Her sarcasm was deaf to me as I stared at the body. I swear I saw that body somewhere before. "Her name is Caroline." GLaDOS chimed in again. That's it! That was the name in the flashback! They said that Caroline was my adoptive mother… No, that's probably not true. It doesn't add up. I silently laughed. The flashback was false! GLaDOS was only trying to cause me more grief. I pivoted on my feet and began searching for an exit. The room was shaped like a large tall cylinder with no windows or doors. Now we all know that no window + no door = neurotoxin; Max and I were trapped. We both knew we were to have the same fate as the others once in this room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yaaay. I was gonna make Caroline as Chell's adoptive mother, but I did some research and the dates just did not add up. But there's no doubt a scientist there did adopt Chell, hence "bring your daughter to work day." But anyway, I'm going to continue writing, and after I'm done uploading this I'll start working on the next chapter.<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Fang leaned against the bars of his cage. His wounds were already healing, and so where the others. Other than the turret incident, GLaDOS hadn't touched them. All she really ever did was stare at the monitors and laugh. Fang liked to listen to the speakers, so that he'd be updated on what was going on. At one point, he heard crying, but he suspected it was the other person. Max was probably the strongest person he knew, and we all know she hates crying and any other emotion. Period. Other than the sound from the monitors, the sound of Gazzy and Iggy playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors" echoed through the vast room. Iggy was blind, but that didn't stop him from winning. Gazzy couldn't falsely claim to win, because Iggy can distinguish the shape of the hand just by the sound it made. Nudge quietly sang to Angel, who attempted to mentally control the A.I. and just so happened to fail miserably.

"Can you even read her mind?" Nudge asked the young girl. "Or anything?"

"No, I can't," whispered Angel, "If I did, I would know why we're here, and all of that."

Nudge sighed and turned to Fang. "I'm hungry," she complained. "And bored."

"Just wait," he said solemnly, "and be grateful that we're not getting hurt or tested or anything."

Nudge moaned and turned away from the boy. Everyone was sleepy, bored, hungry, all the things no one wants to be. Fang knew that. But there was nothing any of them could do. Well, maybe there was… He began to brainstorm. _Okay,_ he thought to himself. _Gazzy and Iggy can make bombs. That's good. And… Nudge can use her magnetic skills to break us out of the cages… somehow. Then after that, she'll use her magnetic powers on the homicidal robot dangling from the ceiling, and corrupt it in a different way._

"That could work," smiled Angel earnestly. She shot a quick glance at GLaDOS. "Do we do that now? I'll mentally tell everyone the plan." Angel looked determined to breakaway from her cage. Fang nodded.

"And then we'll go find Max."

They were just about to put their plan into action when they saw an elevator ascending to their level. In it was a man with golden-brown hair with glasses bridged on his nose. He fashioned a clean white suit and a tie, but appeared to be sleeping. Or dead. GLaDOS swiveled to look at the body.

"Oh good," she whistled, "The body's here. I'm just going to wake him up…"

The sound of beeps and buzzes rang throughout the room and soon the man finally jumped back to life.

"AUGH!" He hollered, as soon as his eyelids flew open. "Oh, God, where am I?" he pushed his glasses toward his eyes.

"Welcome back to Aperture Science," GLaDOS tonelessly greeted. "Do you still remember that trade?"

"Oh, that… Well, yes. I do. But what…"

"In case you haven't noticed, I put you back into your human body. You're former one is floating lifelessly in space."

"Oh for God's sake—a human? Did I really, honestly, have to be one of them? Did I really?"

"Well, if you wanted your spherical body shooting toward the Earth at incredible speeds and catching on fire, that could've been arranged."

"Fine, fine, I'll stay a human. But I do need some time to learn how to use this body."

The man stepped out of the elevator and looked at his reflection in the glass. He remembered nothing about having this body. He stroked his chin (if that was what it is) and identified each part of his body.

"You look fantastic," mocked GLaDOS. "Now just go and kill that test subject. "

Fang's eyes grew small. _Crap, crap, crap. _He thought to himself. No doubt that GLaDOS meant Max. Even though he knew Max could kick the man's butt, the A.I. could do something that could make her death possible. He was about to tell Angel when the bot spoke again.

"There are weapons in your pocket. Make the test subject feel welcome, and then betray her. Understand?"

The man nodded at the A.I., looking directly at her yellow optic. He began to walk quickly toward the door while Angel began sending messages to each member of the flock. Gazzy and Iggy immediately began working on the bomb, grabbing materials that no normal person could use as a deadly explosive. But this device was only a distraction. Nudge slowly began to magnetically bend the bars of her cage. Within seconds, the bomb was finished and ready to go.

"Where should I throw it?" Gazzy whispered anxiously to Fang.

"Anywhere! Just somewhere that'll distract _her."_ He replied.

Soon the plan was delivered perfectly except there were two problems. They couldn't kill GLaDOS with Nudge's magnetism, and the man had already left to carry out his task. They couldn't stop him. They were free from their cages, and already were running down the halls of the facility. They ignored the promise of cake if they stopped, although Nudge gave a second thought about it. But the flock was soon lost in the halls of Aperture, not knowing where their leader could me, and knowing that they aren't able to protect her.

-x-

Wheatley crept down the hidden passages GLaDOS provided him with. Turns out, she put a chip in his brain so that she can communicate with him, and nag him on his mistakes. He came to a glass wall at the end of the path, revealing the two humans being tested. The ledge he was on was two stories high, and he was looking down on a blonde haired woman and someone completely familiar.

Chell.

Crap. It was her! It was her completely! With her long fall boots and everything.

_There she is._ GLaDOS said to him. _Now kill her. Do whatever it takes._

"Are you bloody mad!" Wheatley whispered loudly. "I can't hurt her again! Not after what I've done. She'd never forgive me. Not that she had forgiven me last time. Or heard me apologize. But I am _not_ hurting her again. Never."

_Oh, that's fine. Guess I'll just have to send you back. But not back to space. Just simply to a place of halos and wings. Or maybe a place of fires and pain. Which one would you like?_

Wheatley gulped. He knew GLaDOS could kill him right on the spot. She knows just about everything about slaughter. If he truly valued his life, he would just follow along and go kill Chell. But he had missed her and wanted her to like him. A horrible wave of emotions ran through his body, making his blood pump faster. He felt the warmth of it flow down from his shoulders to his , every part of his body was rejuvenated, and it felt _horrible._ His hand began to twitch nervously as he stood there confused and afraid. He focused his gaze on the dark-skinned woman as she sat nervously on the floor, drumming her fingers. Wheatley ignored the fact that blood was poured all over the place and that every time the woman tapped the floor, her fingers would get bloodier and bloodier each moment.

_Maybe I should kill her, _he told himself. _I suppose the guilt could wear off in a couple of days or so… _ But then he spotted the other test subject, glaring angrily around the room with clenched fists. He worried that if the eradicated Chell, the other test subject would be after him. Wheatley peered at her for a while longer and soon noticed the wings sprouting from her back. _That's awfully different, _he cupped his mouth in awe. It'd be awfully great to see those wings in action…

_That's not the point._ _The point is that I try to murder her again, or that I die in her place._ The stress was overwhelming. Without being able to decide, GLaDOS forced him to head down over there and iron it out as he went. She revealed a narrow stairway down to where the two women stood helplessly. With every step, a bead of sweat would drip off Wheatley's chin. He ignored the odd feeling and focused on what he would say to them. Would the woman he betrayed open up easily to him? He thought about all times he tried to get rid of her, resulting with him swelling up with guilt. _Nope,_ he thought as he dried his forehead with his sleeve, _I am not going to get rid of guilt so easily. _But still he headed down the stairs, knowing that he'd regret everything in the end. As he reached the end of the flight of stairs, GLaDOS silently moved a panel, expecting him to walk on through. Instead, Wheatley hid away from sight, hesitating to see _her_ again. Not that it was a bad thing. If he hadn't done what he did, he would've ran straight to her.

GLaDOS sighed as she watched the pale man hide from her test subjects. He promised to do his side of the trade, but he was unsurprisingly hesitating. She impatiently nudged him forward with a panel being slightly more forceful than needed. "Look who's here," She grumbled. "It's Wheatley, all dressed up in flesh and blood." Wheatley stood there motionlessly, feeling like a moron (as if he hadn't been told so before). Max frowned at him suspiciously as she slowly folded her wings. Wheatley scratched the back of his head as he blushed madly.

"Er…" he stammered, "I know this is awkward for you…" he glimpsed at Chell. "But I've been waiting forever to apologize to you." The girl looked intently at the man. Her eyes grew wide as she stared speechlessly (can't talk anyway, can she?). Max edged closer to Chell, hoping that she would learn more from the mute. "Okay," Wheatley stuttered again, "I know, I know. You must hate me for what I've done. But at least you know that I'm sorry and guilty for what I've done. I'm sorry I tried to…hurt you so many times. I'm sorry I blamed you for things you've never done. I'm sorry for treating you like I did." His head dropped in humiliation as tears began to well up in his eyes. Max soon to realize that this man was dangerous, no matter how innocent he looked. Her instincts kicked in as she remembered that she couldn't trust anyone. She tightened her fists as she waited for the man to speak again. Chell on the other hand, began to walk in his direction. Soon the walk turned into a jog, and the jog turned into a sprint. She tackled him in an embrace, letting him know that she had missed him. Wheatley just sat there with a shocked expression on his face. Was this how humans showed affection? Whatever it was, he liked it. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist and felt the warmth of her affection. Max dropped her guard slightly as she realized how much trust Chell put into him. Max grew a bond with her throughout all of the time they've spent testing and working together. She relaxed and let her fists uncurl.

Chell rose from her embrace with Wheatley and helped him up. As soon as he regained his composure, she smacked across the face with the back of her hand.

"Aaaagh!" He cried out in pain. "Wh-what was that for?" Chell pointed a finger at him accusingly. The sternness on her face expressed the fact that she was still angry for what he'd done, and that she was not yet able to forgive him. Wheatley winced as he massaged his cheek. "Anyways," he said, pulling himself together. "We need to get you out of here."

**AN: HAHA. This is the longest chapter so far. Aaand I think I'm getting **_**slightly**_** better at writing. But yeah.**


	7. Chapter 7

The flock dragged their feet throughout the corridors, looking for a sign for a close exit. They weren't tired, but they felt an overwhelming guilt devour them. Max was going to die, and they wouldn't be able to stop it. The light left their eyes as they turned down another seemingly endless hallway.

"This sucks," cried Gazzy, "Max is going to die. We all know it! We might as well die too, there's no food or any of that crap!"

Angel clutched tightly to her brother's arm. She stared intensely at him, and soon the boy let go of his frustration.

"There's one good thing about being here though," Iggy mocked with slight happiness. "The walls and everything are white. I can see."

"Well can you see an exit?" groaned Nudge, "I want to leave."

"Hold on…"

Iggy snapped his fingers a couple of times, listening for the vibrations of a door or any possible exit. Then he began to move toward an oddly shaped wall panel. He traced the cracks of the panel with his fingers, and grin lit up upon his face. "Gazzy," he called, "Do you have that mini-safety bomb we made a long time ago?" The Gasman reached into his pocket and pulled out an explosive about the size of his palm.

"This one?" he asked. "Does it even have as much power?"

"It'll be enough."

Gazzy tossed the detonate weapon over to his blind partner. Iggy then pulled the latch to set off the timer. "That gives us ten seconds. Run!" The flock quickly scrambled for safety. The noise of the timer buzzed several times before erupting in a massive explosion. Sunlight came through from the blast, revealing an exit for the weary group. One by one, they fled threw to the other side of the facility… or that's what they thought it was.

"I found you," teased a familiar monotone voice. The "sunlight" dimmed, revealing a small compact room. The entrance they came through was blocked, and their hope for escaping faded away. "This is perfect," ringed in GLaDOS, "Now I can really give Max something to cry about. Won't she be glad to know her precious flock will truthfully _die? _I won't even be lying to her this time."

"Don't you dare hurt her!" cried the Gasman. "You sent that scrawny guy to kill her! We saw you!"

"Oh, _him?_ No, no, no. He's not going to hurt Maximum. I don't want anything from her… I'm just going to test her, that's all. The one to be killed is her partner, Chell. It was indeed hard for me to kill her, because I'm an A.I. My methods of homicide are entirely different that a _human's._ And I figured that if it was his way of murder, then it would be easier."

"Let Max go!" scream Nudge demandingly. "Find someone else to do your testing!"

"No, I don't think I will. Now then…"

Suddenly a malodorous gas filled the air, slowly intoxicating them from the inside out. They choked and pounded their fists on the walls, knowing that they'd die.

"Goodbye. No one will save you this time."

-X-

"Okay, so we're in a… big… cylindrical room… and you two need to leave so just follow me up these stairs… I guess… and we'll just… look for a way out I suppose." Wheatley pressed the tips of his index fingers together as he nervously stood before Chell. And the other girl of course, but his focus was mainly on Chell. He was supposed to be _killing_ her right now!

_She's just another human,_ GLaDOS sniffed, _a human that never caught you when you were a sphere._

Wheatley's fist reflexively tightened as a wave of rage flew through him as he remembered falling off his Management Rail. Although, at one point, he remembered landing on the mute's face. Maybe he just traumatized her?

Soon the three of them were trudging up the flight of stairs in an awkward silence. Wheatley could sense that neither one of the two women trusted him completely. It was understandable, but it still hurt. He shot a glance at the dark-skinned woman he once was supposed to escape with. She wasn't talking at all or even looking at him. He daydreamt of how she never spoke to him or ever responded. He began to wonder why she never communicated with him in the first place. Did she think she was better than him? Is that it? He wanted to know.

"Um, Chell?" He stuttered, "Why is it that you've never talked to me? At all?"

Chell jumped (and no, she's not attempting to say "apple"). What was she supposed to do? What is Wheatley thinking? She chewed on her tongue as she tried to figure out what to do. Wheatley must be thinking that she's just using him as a slave again.

"Oh, don't worry," Max interrupted, knowing that Chell was on the verge of tears, "She doesn't talk to me either."

Wheatley's eyebrows furrowed and he focused on heading up the stairs once more. Chell sighed and drummed on the side of her portal device, hoping that somehow she could explain to Wheatley that it was impossible for her to talk… or was it? If the flashback she had was false, did that mean her vocal cords were never removed? There's a possibility that she could be able to speak, but she was too afraid to try. She bit her thumbnail as she plodded up the flight of steps.

"So anyway," Max broke the silence, "When you said 'get us out of there,' did you mean out of that room or out of this whole damn place?"

"Oh, yeah, well first we gotta get out of these stairs right?" Wheatley look back at both of them, wearing a smile of false hope. He was still silently debating about the "trade."

_Hey, moron._ GLaDOS taunted, _Quiet for a second. There's something I want to say._

"Listen birdbrain," GLaDOS's voice buzzed as she spoke through an intercom. "You're flock nearly escaped." Max smiled proudly. She'd raised those guys _good._ "Oh," GLaDOS continued. "Don't look so happy. I _caught _them in the act."

Max's grin immediately faded away. "And now 'Fang' is _really _dead now. So are Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel. What were your parents thinking, naming them such odd names?"

Max's smiled withered away.

**AN: another one done. Also, I might have some slight Chell/Wheatley fluff in the future. If you disapprove that being in this story, tell me ASAP. Yup.**


End file.
